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Rob's Review
Manuel’s
is not your basic Tex-Mex
My
only complaint about Manuel's restaurant on 310 Congress in downtown is the
lack of parking. Especially at lunchtime. I practically wore out a pair of
Johnston and Murphy's trekking from my distant parking spot last week. But
I'll tell you, the walk is worth it.
Manuel's
is not your basic Tex-Mex emporium so common to Austin. It's a blending of
various styles and regions from interior Mexico to coastal and northern as
well, resulting in a palate-pleasing barrage of really innovative and
genuinely tasty food.
Start
with the chili con queso. Manuel's mixes Monterrey jack cheese, tomatoes,
onions and poblano peppers, and they serve it with flour tortillas.
Different than the usual queso one finds in Austin, and delightful.
Another
favorite is the camarones, Mexican-style peel-and-eat shrimp, and let's not
forget the gorditas, which are potatoes and corn masa pancakes served with
wild and untamed salsa.
The
entrees are no less intriguing. Try the chicken flautas with verde salsa.
So often the flautas one tries in Austin are on the dry side. But not
at Manuel's.
The
enchiladas are also worthy of your consideration. I prefer the enchiladas
verdes with a neat tomatillo sauce and the enchiladas de rojas adobadas. Or
for the seafood fans, try the enchiladas de Jaiba. These are stuffed with
crab and again, that awesome tomatillo sauce.
But
my absolute favorite entree is the lomo de puerco. These are grilled pork
tenderloin medallions that have a unique flavor enhanced by the chili salsa.
And their chile rellenos pay homage to the poblano pepper in a way
that few Mexican restaurants in this town have managed to do. Stuffed with
either fresh-cut corn or onions in the elote style or with pork in the
nogada style, they are hands down winners under any constraint.
Manuel’s
also has a new location on Jollyville near Great Hills Cinema. Plenty of
parking there. But that downtown store... I don't know ... there's something
almost triumphant when your will and wit prevails. And you can celebrate a
close-up parking space with the same gusto as your great lunch or dinner at
Manuel's.
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